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Tuesday, July 9, 2013

EDDY & HÉLÈNE ... an impossible match

EDDY & HÉLÈNE ... an impossible match

by Prince Michael of Greece

If Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale,
‘Eddy’ to his family and friends, had lived to become king, Britain might have
had a Roman Catholic queen. He certainly hoped it would. Biographers have
dismissed Eddy’s love for Princess Hélène of Orléans as a thing of no
consequence, the passing whim of an ineffectual prince who did the monarchy a
favour by dying. But the recent discovery of a cache of original documents
relating to their romance casts a new light on the affair, showing just how much
the relationship meant to the couple themselves, and the lengths to which their
families went in searching for a settlement that would allow them to marry.
Ultimately, the religious obstacles proved too great, to the lasting sorrow of
all concerned. Echoes of the affair lingered for many years, as this collection
shows, though Eddy did not long survive the end of his hopes.

He lived long enough to contract a ‘suitable’ engagement to
a childhood friend before dying of infl uenza in the winter of 1891-1892, and
his reputation almost died with him. So little evidence was known until now of
the man he was – the man Hélène and those close to him knew – that later
generations created their own myth to fi ll the blank. But the newly-discovered
material in this book includes the letters Eddy sent to Hélène, which open a
unique window into the character of a muchmaligned prince, and suggest that his
whole biography may need to be rewritten ...

Published by Rosvall Royal Books. I will be receiving a review copy, and will be reviewing the book here.

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This blog is the successor to my printed newsletter, Royal Book News, which was published from 1983 until 2009. I will review books on British and European royalty in English and other languages. There is a great interest in foreign language titles because many of these books won't be translated into English. Royal Book News is interested in books published in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, etc.Plantagenets to Windsor. Habsburgs, Romanovs, Hohenzollerns, Bourbons! Each review will include a link to the publisher's site, and, if possible, a link to online bookstores. Please contact me at RoyalMusings at cox dot net for further information, including where to send your book.

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About Me

is an internationally recognized expert on British and European royalty, especially the descendants of Queen Victoria. Academic librarian. Author of Queen Victoria's Descendants (Rosvall Royal Books: 1997), and Queen Victoria's Descendants: A Companion Edition (Rosvall Royal Books: 2004). Edited A Romanov Diary published by Atlantic International (1990). Articles published in Majesty, Royalty Digest, Royalty Magazine, Atlantis magazine &, European History Journal. Provided research for Greg King, David Duff, Hugo Vickers, among others. Contributed chapters for The Grand Duchesses and The Other Grand Dukes, both published by Kensington Books.
Media appearances: CNN, NBC, ABC, BBC, CBC, Dateline: NBC, WUSA, WRC, numerous radio stations in the USA, Canada & UK. Interviewed by the Washington Post, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, the Washington Times, USA Today, the Today Show, & other print and web media in the USA & UK.
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